


Masks and Non-Masks

by technothecow



Series: my oneshots :) [2]
Category: Dream Team (Video Blogging RPF), Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Antfrost (mentioned), BadBoyHalo (Mentioned) - Freeform, Costume Parties & Masquerades, Face Reveal, Gen, I make me laugh, Identity Reveal, Improper Use of Commas, Magic, Masks, Nicknames, No beta we die like Technoblade: Never, No real names, POV Techno, POV Third Person Limited, Secret Identity, Swearing, georgenotfound (mentioned) - Freeform, improper use of italics, ranboo (mentioned) - Freeform, skeppy (mentioned) - Freeform, technomaid, tw inside
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:42:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27826222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/technothecow/pseuds/technothecow
Summary: In which Techno is dragged to a masquerade ball by Wilbur and decides he may as well have some fun with it. Because going dressed as Dream couldn't go wrong at all, right? While Techno is artfully dodging social interactions from behind a certain smiley mask, a rather familiar stranger approaches in clip-on pig's ears, a plastic crown, and a smile like he just made the funniest inside joke and expects Techno to be the sole person who gets it. Techno rolls with it.Not a shipping fic u nasties
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Dave | Technoblade, Clay | Dream & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Dave | Technoblade & Wilbur Soot
Series: my oneshots :) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2024893
Comments: 13
Kudos: 136





	Masks and Non-Masks

**Author's Note:**

> did i write this entire story just so i could make the jokes that minecraft youtubers probably run back and forth while socializing like they do in hypixel lobbies and also that gamer parties would probably include mountain dew on the menu? maybe. This author believes in ungulate techno supremacy
> 
> Kudos and comments greatly appreciated!! I'll probably respond to every comment because it's better than whatever I'm usually doing.
> 
> At this point I'm seriously considering making a "behind the scene" thing in a separate page on here just so yall can appreciate my pure genius wordplay lmao. For now, read bottom notes for me rambling about my thought process while writing this fic, fun history facts, and other random, unnecessary things. 
> 
> Edit as of Tales of the SMP #5: so clearly i am a fool because gamer parties apparently include intense games of duck duck goose. my mistake, will not mess up again. 
> 
> TW: food, some swearing, minor alcohol mentions, talk about social anxiety

Techno couldn't help but analyze the ballroom like it was a battlefield. Noxcrew really went all out on this one, he had only made it to the parking lot and he could already tell that this night is going to be one massive headache. 

For starters, the castle on the hill was absolutely massive. Noxcrew must've rented out the dancehall inside just for the occasion. The room itself was probably two or three stories high, with wings connecting it to the rest of the castle on either side, and the floorplan was shaped like a massive keyhole. If Techno had to guess, the room was probably preceded by a luxurious staircase that opened into the main, circular ballroom, in which there was live music, dancing, mingling, and hopefully food. He took his place in line to be accepted into the castle doors and watched the pulsing lights stream from the glass windows of the castle. 

“Next.” Called the doorman. Techno stepped up to the entrance of the ballroom and presented his invitation. He wasn’t sure what to expect; he’d never been, but the doorman just gave it a once-over and handed it back. 

“Thank you, Mr.-” The doorman looked up and hesitated for the slightest second. An expression flashed over him that Techno was more used to seeing on the battlefield: a mixture of surprise, respect, and fear.

The doorman recovered quickly. “Right this way, Mr. Dream.” 

Techno walked through the grandiose entranceway. He was right, for the most part, about the lay of the land. In front of him was a gently sloping grand staircase, leading to a circular room full of chattering influencers. Many moved up and down the stairs while socializing, creating a churning crowd of laughter and partying. At least there were tables with food across the room, Techno reasoned.

Carefully, he descended into the crowd. It parted, like it usually did. That was one change that Techno had greatly enjoyed with his relatively newfound reputation. Gone were the days of the high school hallways. Never again would he mutter apologies after hard collisions with other students or be smacked across the face by an uncaring elbow. 

Techno kept his eyes out for Wilbur. The smiley mask was quite handy, actually; he could stare at anyone and they wouldn’t even know. (Usually staring at random people caused them to beg for their lives). Try as he might, the disguises were harder to see through than Techno thought. With faces covered and voices blurring into one another, it was almost impossible to deduce most of the crowd without being face-to-face with them. 

The refreshments table was in sight. Instantly, his heart leaped; finally, a chance to try and let his anxiety wind down. Techno surveyed the various beverages with intense interest so nobody interpreted his arrival as an opportunity to talk to him. Was he overthinking this? Probably. There was mountain dew (he expected nothing less of a gamer party), a variety of alcohol (as much as he was tempted, the last thing he needed was to embarrass himself right now), and water. Techno selected water before promptly realizing that he had covered his mouth with a cloth mask so nobody would recognize his scars and therefore couldn't drink it but also couldn't put it back down since he'd already picked it up. 

Oh, well. Things were really coming up well today. 

Techno turned to observe the roiling crowd like a scientist would observe lab rats on cocaine: with slight removed concern hidden behind stoic professionalism. One particularly loud group swirled closer, and as he listened to their jovial conversation, he thought he recognized a laugh within the others. _Please_ let it be who he thought it was-

A person split off from the group and headed toward the drink table that Techno was currently leaning against. They were dressed as a raccoon, in a paper mache mask and a soft gray sweater. Balanced on the snout of the mask was Wilbur's round glasses. 

Wilbur clearly didn't recognize Techno; he said something like "'Scuze me," and bypassed him for a glass of red wine. 

"Wilbur," Techno reached for Wilbur's shoulder, "It's me-" 

When Wilbur turned, Techno saw real fear in his eyes. 

And then Wilbur burst into laughter, the kind where he threw his head back and brought his hand to face and probably turned red-faced through high-pitched giggles.

Techno fought the urge to embarrassedly laugh along, and also the urge to save Wilbur's precariously perched glasses. 

"Fucking hell, Techno? Is that you?" Wilbur broke into another peal of laughter. "You scared me, dude!" 

"Uh, sorry." Techno shuffled a little bit. "I scared the doorman too, I didn't think I was that intimidating-"

"That mask is _scary_ , dude. And you're an inch taller than me- _how are you taller than me?"_

"How can anyone take me seriously, I'm wearing a lime green tuxedo-"

Wilbur looked like he had only just put together that Techno was dressed head-to-hoof in a Dream costume. 

"You came as Dream- Wait, _you came as Dream-"_

Wilbur continued laughing into his wine glass until he realized that Techno was giving him a long-suffering _look_ , and then attempted to sober up by gulping his drink. (Perhaps "sober up" wasn't the right phrase to use, here.)

"It's a nice costume, though, really." Said Wilbur, nodding approvingly. His poor glasses bobbed along, getting closer to falling every second. "I thought you were just going to throw something together. Did you get the tux custom-tailored?"

Techno didn't pass us the opportunity to brag about his superior costume skills. "Yeah, it took me ages to find a place that would do it without any, um, advanced convincing techniques. Apparently, this particular color is sacrilegious or something. And I'm taller than you because I'm actually wearing human shoes. They boost me a little." 

"Did you dye your hair too?" 

"No, it's a little bit of disguise magic." Techno seized one of the caramel-colored locks at the edge of his vision and fiddled with it a bit. The spellcaster was rather evasive about how to undo the brown-hair spell, so hopefully, he hadn’t just been pranked. Thankfully, the end turned into his usual bubblegum pink before fading back. "I have a friend who specializes in disguise magic for rather extensive pranks, so I got him to help." Wilbur followed Techno's gaze across the room to a rather loud guest in a duck onesie. 

"Ah. I see. Is there anything you _can't_ tryhard?" 

"You already know the answer to that question, Wilbur, come on." 

  
  


Wilbur rolled his eyes (presumably, the mask cast his eyes into shadow, but Techno knew him well enough to guess) and finished off his glass of wine. 

"Well, you know, since you actually came here, you know you're gonna have to socialize, right?" Wilbur added, casually.

"What? That wasn't the deal," Techno protested. "You said if I came here of my own accord you weren't going to drag me to this party in a maid's outfit. You never said anything about talking to people." 

"Come on, Techno, let's go dancing."

"Wilbur, I am wearing fake feet right now. My hooves have never felt more cramped. No, please-" 

"Oooooor you could stay right here until someone inevitably comes up to talk to you. Your call, but _I'm_ gonna dance." 

"Wilbur, you suck. I do not dance _ever_ , much less when I have a piece of tape over my goddamn tail-" 

"Suit yourself." Wilbur gave a little wave and promptly melted into the crowd. 

Techno ran through his usual tirade silently in his head. Well, shit. He automatically stiffened into a perfect poise: straight back, squared shoulders, glass perfectly positioned to seem aloof. Maybe if he was intimidating enough he could scare away anyone that wanted to talk. 

A new group of partygoers streamed through the double doors at the top of the stairs. Maybe fashionably late, maybe just regular late. The room went from a tad too full for Techno's tastes to jostlingly, suffocatingly packed, loud enough for him to want to break the nearest window to escape, and just a tinge too hot from the breathing and bodies and _people_. Techno forced himself to focus on people-watching again. 

_Calm down, Techno,_ He told himself, _You're just getting anxious again. You'll be fine._

Usually, his anxiety didn't just back down when he asked nicely, but this time, he felt his heart rate actually lower down a little. The new crowd of people had fully joined the main floor, and streams of new people walked past him, their costumes providing a bit of distraction for Techno. A ringmaster. A sort of spooky clown. One person didn't even bother with a costume and opted for a cardboard minecraft steve head over normal clothes. Techno tried to look for Wilbur, but the crowd had swallowed him, even masking his height. He couldn't even see Skeppy. And he knew he was desperate if he was actively looking to hang out with Skeppy. 

_Maybe I could just leave,_ Techno reasoned with himself. Wilbur had said nothing about leaving early either. Maybe he could just say that he tried to talk a little bit with people but it didn't work out.

Techno turned toward the doors to begin leaving, and like the clouds opening up to expose a massive f-you sign written by clouds in the sky, the crowds magically parted to reveal a person wearing a sweeping wool-trimmed red cloak, a wig in a truly offending color of hot pink, and a plastic crown nestled between two felt pig's ears. The person had been chatting with someone to the side, but he turned and almost stopped short, seeing Techno standing there. A grin stretched across his face like he had just made the funniest inside joke ever, and was expecting Techno to get it. 

Here he was just about to leave, and the universe _had_ to throw a stranger that Techno actually felt an inkling interest to talk to right in front of him. 

At least Techno didn't have to approach first. The Techno-cosplayer strode up to him. Honestly, the costume wasn't even that bad: the king's outfit was well put together, and the stranger had creatively replaced Techno's hoof guards with tall black boots to better fit human feet. The only fault was that Techno's hair was _not_ such an obtrusive color of pink. 

"Hey, nice costume." The Techno-cosplayer offered a friendly smile. His tone had a hint of humor, but Techno couldn't figure what he was laughing at.

"Thanks. You too." Said Techno. The irony was not lost on him. 

"Guess we both had similar ideas, huh? Going as fellow influencers?" 

"Well, you know," Techno smirked, "Gotta take the opportunity to pretend you're famous when it's handed to you."

Techno-cosplayer snorted at that. "I just hope Techno isn't actually here. I'm pretty sure this isn't his kind of scene, but still..."

Okay, _now_ the irony wasn't lost on him.

"Same," Techno said. The idea of Dream finding out that Techno had gone as him to the masquerade ball? He'd never hear the end of it. "That would be a bit of a nightmare in my um, circle. I bet they'd call me a Dream fanboy, or something."

"Oh? A Dream fanboy?" Technocosplayer said it almost like it was a challenge. 

"Hey, don't judge me. You're the one that came as Techno to the party." 

"What's wrong with Techno? Oh, you _are_ a Dream stan!" Technocosplayer gloated.

"Nothing's wrong with uh- Techno, he's just-" Techno stumbled over the friendly banter a little bit. Talking about himself in 3rd person was _weird._

"He won the duel fair and square, you know." Said, Technocosplayer.

Techno laughed along with his imposter. 

"In all seriousness, he did win the duel,” Said Technocosplayer. “Spectacularly, too. The guy knows how to make something engaging and funny. It sucks how people acted about it. Especially the rather intense Dream fans. Um." 

Techno found himself genuinely listening to Technocosplayer's assessment. The guy sounded strangely.... apologetic. 

"Yeah, now if only, he had a good upload schedule.." Techno half-joked. 

"Ha! I'm sure he agrees with you. You didn't hear it from me, but-" Technocosplayer looked left and right like he was about to say something conspiratorial. "I heard he's like, really hard on himself. Should really let up on himself some time." 

Techno hadn't expected this amount of sincerity in their conversation. It wasn't unwelcome, though. 

"I think... he'll get the message," Techno said, carefully. 

If there was anything odd about that sentence, Technocosplayer didn't say anything. Instead, he waved at a person in the crowd who had just passed. They must have been friends, since Technocosplayer and the other, who was dressed in an orange tutu, wired monarch butterfly wings, and bedazzled clout goggles, seemed to exchange a wordless conversation instantly through a tightly knit flock of people. From what Techno could tell, Butterfly Dude found something intensely funny, and Technocosplayer was kinda pissed about something. 

"A friend?" Techno said when Technocosplayer turned back to him. 

"Yeah. He's the one that dragged me here, actually." 

"Really? The same actually happened to me, but he kinda ditched me so I could socialize. He was threatening me with a maid outfit, so I had to."

Technocosplayer burst into laughter.

"A maid outfit? Okay, I didn't get that kind of coercion, but he did make me try to talk to someone."

"Lucky. He was serious about it too, I never knew he just had a maid outfit on hand like that." Techno cringed at the memory. "At least I managed to talk to someone, though."

"Tell you what: We can just talk to each other, whenever they're near! Then your friend can't force you into a maid outfit, and my friend can't nag at me to be more talkative!" Technocosplayer stuck out his hand. He'd even worn fingerless gloves like Techno often did in battle, the guy had done his research.

"I wouldn't mind hanging out with Technoblade all night." Said Techno, in response. Despite the sarcasm, Techno felt a slight weight lifted off him. He could escape the maid ruffles _and_ hold a conversation with a stranger that didn't feel completely torturous! 

Technocosplayer gasped in mock surprise. "Dream has given me his approval!" He paused for a second. "Okay, I’m gonna stop trying to act like Techno, I really don’t want to wake up with a sword in my back. Honestly, how does he do it? Be so deadpan all the time?"

"No idea," Said Techno, completely truthfully. 

"Oh, by the way," Said Technocosplayer. "You can call me um, Delta. Yeah."

"Well, you may call me," Techno ground his mental gears together. "Neeeeeeeo. Call me Neo. Yes." 

"I think we both suck at fake names." 

"I concur." 

The conversation slowed for a bit, and Techno took the chance to glance around for any sign of Wilbur again. There was nothing, though Techno noted that a second duck-costumed partygoer had arrived, and now both were bickering on the dance floor. 

"Hey- wanna go dancing?" Delta said, suddenly. He snapped his mouth shut immediately after, like he didn't realize that he just said that. "Platonically, of course." Delta flushed, just a little bit, exposing a few freckles that Techno hadn't previously noticed. Delta clearly wasn't very good at schooling the emotions on his face, a strange trait for a person whose job was to be on camera all the time- perhaps he was a newer streamer, or something. 

"I um, don't know how," Techno said. A flimsy excuse, but he wasn't about to explain the dynamics of fake human shoes for digitigrades and how they affected his balance and comfort. 

"Well, I could teach you!" 

Techno mentally weighed the pros and cons. Cons- he was probably clumsy right now, dancing wasn't really his thing, and he really didn't want to accidentally contribute to some "Dream dancing compilation" somewhere in the dark reaches of Dream Team comp youtube. Pros- he could continue to hang out with Delta, and as much as Techno choked mentally on the words, dancing maybe looked a little fun. At least nobody would know it was him, anyway.

Delta made the decision for him. He grabbed Techno's hand and pulled him into the dancing area. "Come on, it'll be fine!"

Around them, music faintly swirled, largely drowned out by the swelling crowd. A few couples were attempting to slow dance between various people attempting to do some kind of dance that Techno would bet was from tiktok. The duck costumed people were now doing the chicken dance in the corner. 

"So, you kinda move your body to the beat," Delta was saying.

Techno could hardly hear any beat, even with his piggish hearing, but he kinda bopped anyway. He didn't want to disappoint Delta.

Delta, on the other hand, was absolutely _vibing_. He took "dance like nobody's watching" to another level. His face was like a physical representation of how Techno had felt after exams season was over, or when the stress from the duel and the potato war and MCC had passed. 

Techno almost slipped, and forced himself to focus on his own footwork. Why couldn’t he just learn dancing like he’d learned the newer style of dueling? Through drills with various senseis that were measured with numerical values and could be quantified and compared easily? Why didn’t dancing 1v1s exist yet??

“Yeah, you’re doing good!” Delta smiled. Or, at least, that’s what Techno lip-read. “Try loosening up a little!”

“So where did you learn to dance?” Techno practically shouted, attempting to follow Delta’s advice. 

“It was to help expand my flexibility and coordination, actually, I wanted to have a way to practice for another sport that I could do anywhere-” Delta got cut off by a shriek of laughter somewhere in the crowd. Perhaps he did gymnastics, Techno mused. 

There was some sort of an uproar in a nearby knot of people, and a person near Techno stumbled into him, accidentally jabbing his shoulder into Techno’s chest and landing hard on the floor, yelling raucously at whoever pushed him. 

“Um, sorry-” Techno said, offering his hand to the guy. The guy was in a devil costume, a grinning red mask covering most of his face; Techno tried his best to place his voice but couldn’t. He really needed to up his recognition game, hearing voices and not being able to tell where he’d heard them before was driving him nuts.

Devil dude accepted Techno’s hand and pulled himself into an upright position. He was probably a full head shorter than Techno, from his shoes to the pointy red horns poking out of his hair. 

“Wow! Dream!” Yelped Devil dude, quickly letting go of Techno’s hand. “I didn’t think you’d be here! Didn’t you say you weren’t going?” Unlike everyone else in the deafening crowd, the demon was easily louder than the music; Techno could actually _hear_ him instead of lipreading. 

“I’m not Dream, I’m just dressed like him-” Said Techno, trying to speak over the music. Luckily, Devil dude seemed to understand him just fine.

“Oh, really? Your costume is really good!” Shouted Devil dude. By now, Delta had noticed the uproar and had made his way over to Techno.

“Neo? You okay? Who’s this-”

Devil dude burst into a bout of squawky laughter. “Dude, nice Technoblade costume! Y’know, I was going to go as Techno too, but, um, a friend of mine said that that wasn’t a good idea because-”

Delta shot Techno a confused look. “Uh, where’d you find this guy?”

“He bumped into me a minute ago and then started yelling at me-” Responded Techno. They both glanced at the guy in question, who hadn’t noticed that neither Delta nor Techno were no longer listening and was still jabbering on. 

“Anyway, my fellow adults, do you guys know where I might acquire a drink? Preferably a coke-” Devil dude was saying. “What did you say your name was, Not-Dream?” 

“Neo,” Answered Techno. 

“Neo! You wouldn’t happen to know where the refreshments are? I’ve never been to one of these, but I was told there’d be a lot of women here-” 

Next to Techno, Delta suddenly flinched. Techno turned, concerned, but Delta was already pushing past Techno to put a steely grip on the devil’s shoulder.

“Sorry, I didn’t catch your name, what was it?” Said Delta, his voice a bit strained. Devil dude chuckled a bit under Delta’s hold.

“Um, my name’s t-Tommo?” Tommo shrunk awkwardly, looking guilty suddenly. 

“Really, Tommo? And did you know that this party's for 18+?"

Delta began steering Tommo away; he only spared a moment to motion for Techno to follow by glancing over Tommo’s shoulder and jerking his head in the direction of the door. Did Delta know Tommo? Delta certainly seemed to know Tommo somehow, at least, as he was making small talk with thinly-veiled pointedness at him, but Tommo showed no recognition, just mild panic. Techno genially wondered if Tommo was in trouble for something as he followed the pair toward the grand staircase. 

Being a few steps behind them, Techno could only make a little bit of their conversation, but it sounded like it was going something like this: 

Delta: Something about the party’s invitations and guests.

Tommo: Acute fear, confusion, and general alarm poorly hidden by an attempt to be funny.

Delta: Reproachful big-brother face with an “I-know-more-than-you” smile.

Tommo: General dread and abject horror. Nervous laughter. 

In short, Techno was enjoying himself in imagining what poor Tommo was going through. Delta steered him directly up the stairs and to the door. He said one final thing to Tommo, and then gave him a gentle shove toward the grand entrance before taking a few steps back as if to admire his handiwork. Tommo looked back a few times, like he was still in shock that this was happening, but he eventually pushed the grand doors open and walked outside. Techno stepped up to Delta just as he nodded at one of the guards at the door. 

“Did you know that guy?”

The guard seemed to get the idea and followed Tommo out the grand doors to presumably make sure he didn’t try to get back in, or something. 

“Yeah, he’s a little troublemaker.” Snorted Delta. It wasn’t said unkindly, though. 

“He didn’t seem to know you.”

“He didn’t recognize me. Don’t blame him, nobody’s recognized me yet tonight…” Delta shifted awkwardly, his plastic crown slowly sliding off his hair. Techno resisted the unconscious urge to check his own crown before remembering that he wasn't wearing it; it was in his jacket.

"It's hot in here." Said Delta. Techno nodded in agreement. 

Suddenly the door the guard had been standing seemed very obvious. Techno glanced at it, and then at Delta, and then came to the realization that Delta had just done the same thing.

"No, we are not going through the door. Didn't you just tell that Tommo guy off for sneaking in here?"

Delta didn't stop looking at the door.

"Delta." 

"Neo?"

"Yeah?" Said Techno, not looking forward to Delta's answer.

"Race you."

Delta yanked the door open faster than Techno's eyes could track and was down the hallway in a flash- Techno hot on his tail. The hallway, flanked with thick, stone walls and wrought iron torches which did nothing to keep the sudden bite of cold from Techno. The hallway was curved around the outer edge of the ballroom, so the music of the party penetrated the whole hall in rhythmic, echoey booms that mixed perfectly with the two pairs of footsteps dashing through the passage. 

Techno was struggling to run in shoes- why humans insisted on wearing them was beyond Techno. Luckily, Delta seemed to be struggling too. It seemed he hadn't mastered the art of running in a thick cloak, and satisfaction rang in Techno's head.

"Get- back-" Yelled Techno, but Delta managed to shoot a sly smile at Techno and burst through the nearest doorway. Grumbling, Techno followed him into the moon-lit corridor. This one, at least, was much less slim, and Delta had lost speed when he made the quick turn- Techno was gaining on him- 

And then Delta practically dove into a doorway to the left and Techno nearly ate the castle's marble floor trying to make a turn so quickly, but he didn't and something had grabbed him and hauled him to the left and-

"-Neo? You okay?"

"What?" Said Techno. His head was still spinning. 

"The were guards coming- sorry, I-" 

Techno blink. He came to the realization that he was currently sitting on the floor of a cold, white marble balcony. Delta was half-supporting him awkwardly, and his new suit jacket had wrinkles in it. 

"...Neo?" Delta gently backed away from Techno, leaving Techno lying flat on the floor. 

"Delta, I hope you can tell that I'm staring at you disapprovingly through this mask." 

Delta broke into a wheezing laugh and the tension bled out of the air. 

"Did you really have to _yank_ me, though?" Techno complained. "My poor jacket." He patted down his pockets: crown, check. phone, check. Good. 

Delta was still laughing.

"I'm serious, you know? Why am _I_ the voice of reason here? You know it's bad when _I'm_ being reasonable..."

Delta forcefully made himself stop laughing. 

"Sorry, Neo. Really." 

Techno pushed himself upwards into a sitting position. "It's fine, just. Try not to get us kicked out of here, alright?"

"I'll try. No promises, though." 

Techno stood up and allowed himself to admire the surroundings: The castle was on a rather majestic hill; a spot that Techno could appreciate both the tactical and aesthetic choices of. The ballroom, still pulsing with beams of light, sat at the highest point of the hill, but the ground level began dropping away as it approached the balcony that he and Delta were currently occupying, allowing it to be at least a story off the ground. It was a warm night, in sharp contrast to the freezing palace hallways, and the moonlight tinted everything in blue. 

"So why'd you dress as Dream for the party?" Said Delta. He'd perched himself on the railing of the balcony, and was swinging his feet in the air. It wasn't particularly windy that night, but it still made Techno nervous. 

"Thought it'd be funny." Techno shrugged. "Why'd you dress as Techno?"

Delta shrugged his shoulders. "Same as you, I guess." 

"You weren't afraid of offending him, like Tommo was?" Said Techno, jokingly. 

"Hah! No, not really. For all of his orphan-blood sacrifices, I'm pretty sure he's actually a cool dude."

 _Does this guy know me?_ Wondered Techno.

"I don't think Techno would be any more pissed off than Dream would be. If you're worried." Said Delta. 

"I guess I wasn't worried about what Dream would think when I created my costume. He'd understand." Mused Techno.

"Understand what?" 

"Just that a costume that covers all of my face would be very useful. Also, he'd totally find it funny." 

"Would he?" Said Delta, innocently. It struck Techno oddly. 

The wind picked up for a second, but he didn't feel cold at all. 

"Hey, have you been able to recognize anyone all evening?" Said Delta, after a moment.

"Well, I recognized my friend, in the raccoon costume?" Techno tried to count on his fingers. "Um, I think I recognized Skeppy, and Bad?" He looked up at Delta, who nodded in confirmation. 

"So, three then. Pretty low score. You?"

"Well, I came with two of my friends-" 

"Hey!" Said, Techno, "That doesn't count! You knew their costumes ahead of time!" 

"Okay, fine! I recognized Skeppy and Bad, too, and Tommo, and think I spotted Ant in a grape costume-"

"A grape costume?"

"Yeah, like the fruit? He was a bundle of grapes. So four. HA! I win!" 

Techno rolled his eyes. "But did you get recognized? That's minus two points per."

"Wha-at? You're just making up rules!" Delta complained.

"Well, you're the one that made this into a contest-"

"There's no way that anyone recognized me. No way."

"You've got your whole face out! Some totally recognized you. You're in denial." Techno laughed. 

"Well, did _you_ recognize me? Five points, if you can guess who I am, right now." Said Delta.

"I'll extend the same offer. There's no way anyone recognized me, either." Techno scoffed. 

"Oh, yeah? I bet I could guess who you are." Grinned Delta. He _really_ wasn't one to back down from a challenge, huh?

"Your fake name is Neo? So a maybe a parkourer, then..." Delta squinted his eyes, already deep in thought. "And not particularly intimidated by Dream, so you must've at least interacted with him..." 

Techno tried to focus on Delta. The name didn't ring any bells at all; he'd never heard of anyone going by a Greek letter, or 'D'; his best bet was probably Delta's voice. He swore he recognized his laugh, maybe..?

Delta, meanwhile, had pulled up his phone and seemed to be drawing a very tangled diagram of sorts. 

Had he met Delta before? If he had, it was definitely under different pretenses... Techno racked his memories. 

"I've got it!" Exclaimed Delta. "You must be Ranboo, right?" 

Techno stared at him, unsure if he was supposed to feel insulted or find this funny. 

"... I'm wrong, aren't I?" Delta groaned in annoyance. "I've got no idea." 

"Same," Said Techno. "Want me to just tell you?"

"No! I wanna figure it out!" Grumbled Delta, deliberately being whiny, but he made no effort to stop Techno from reaching up to take off his mask.

"I don't blame you for not figuring it out." Techno pulled off his fabric mask first, and reached to unbuckle the signature smiley mask. 

He took it off and relished in the cool night wind, sweeping all his mask-condensation off his face. Instantly, his wrong-colored hair got in his face, so he brushed it out of the way, hoping that he didn't look _completely_ terrible right now. 

Delta was awfully silent. Silent for long enough that Techno worried that he didn't recognize him. Had it been too overly cocky to assume that _everyone_ here would instantly recognize his face? Techno had brought his crown with him; maybe he could just put it on? Would that help??

And then, in the smallest of voices, Delta said "...Techno?"

Techno didn't have to answer the question. Delta absolutely _collapsed,_ wheezing so hard that the air escaped him in one, painful-sounding 'HaaaaaAaaaa'. Techno laughed along, though not as hard, because he was half afraid that Delta was going to fall right off the balcony if he leaned back too far. 

Delta was still struggling for air. His voice was cracking with laughter, Techno could hardly understand him. 

"No, no... Techno, you don't understand, it's me Techno, it's-" He broke off again. 

Instead of explaining, he reached for the mask Techno just took off and clipped it on smoothly, like he did it every day.

Wait. 

"Dream, you utter asshole, you _know_ my hair isn't that color! You have no excuse!" Shouted Techno. 

Dream gave no response. He was too busy gasping for air on the ground, and Techno ended up joining him. 

Dream? _Dream_ Dream??? Dressed up as him for the masquerade? They'd had the same idea?? And- and-

"I thought-" Dream paused to cough on his own laughter. "I thought you weren't going!"

"I thought that about you!" Said Techno, but he was smiling too much to sound accusatory. 

The laughter gradually subsided, but Techno was far too comfortable to sitting on the floor to get up.

"You sound like a goose when you laugh really hard, you know." Said Dream, into the silence.

"...Well that's just rude." Techno pried his fake shoes off, freeing his hooves. _Finally._

"Did you dye your hair? I was wondering how it was perfectly my hair color." Dream pulled the barbaric pink wig off his head. "Look Techno, we match."

"It's disguise magic. Had a friend do it." Techno ran a hand through his hair and hoped it turned back to his usual color. 

"I hate suits, actually, did you know that?" 

Techno made a 'no' noise as he fished his crown out of his jacket pocket. 

"I'd sooner arrive in a lime green ballgown, probably." Snorted Dream. "I hate to feel so restricted." 

"You feel restricted? YOU feel restricted? I'll have you know, Dream-" Techno swung his shoe at Dream, who easily dodged it. "You have NO idea. I am so uncomfortable. And the mask-" He searched around for it before remembering that Dream had just put it on.

"I made it myself, you know." Said Techno. It was ill-fitting on Dream, just a tad too thin so it sat uncomfortably on his cheekbones. 

Dream's hands rose to take it off, and when he showed his face, his face was rosy from the night chill, and his laugher fit.

There was an awkward silence in which Techno tried not to stare while trying to figure out if it was okay to stare and Dream tactfully avoided eye contact. It was a bit unnerving to see Dream's face. Techno was so used to staring at the still mask that seeing Dream emote was a new, weird experience. 

Techno turned his gaze back to the night sky. 

"...You're not going to say anything about my face?" Blurted Dream, who then looked immediately regretful that he'd just said that. Dream showing visible emotion. Weird stuff. 

"No," Said Techno. "What, were you expecting something? Your face is adequate. There, you're welcome." 

"Shut up, piggy." Muttered Dream. He relaxed though, and Techno could tell that he was grateful. 

"Sorry, what was that?" Snorted Techno. 

"What?"

"What?"

Techno rolled his eyes and Dream laughed again. It was getting colder, they were going to have to sneak back into the palace soon. 

"You wanna go back sometime?" Said Techno. 

"Whatever you want."

"The party was great and all, but I think I'm good here for now." 

"Same. Everything went better than expected, actually."

They stayed on the balcony for nearly all of the rest of the night.

~~~

Techno rolled over, groaning. It was probably noon or something, but Techno couldn't quite tell. The sun was shining full-force through his blinds, and his glasses were nowhere to be found. 

He blinked blearily a few times and grabbed for his phone. The lime green suit was still where he'd put it, on the floor. In the sunlight, he could clearly see that he'd gotten the bottoms of his pants dirty. He and Dream had ended up trying to parkour down the balcony to avoid the guards, and it had gone... less than ideal. 

He managed to find his glasses (also on the floor) and put them on while thumbing through his DMs. 

Tommy: Dream

Tommy: Techno

Tommy: Hey

Tommy: Hey techno hey dream hey techno hey dream

Tommy: HEY

Tommy: There were some dudes dressed as you two at the party yesterday

Tommy: I TOLD you it was gonna be fine if i went as techno dream

Tommy: But its okay because the guy dressed as techno was a dickbag

Tommy: I would have made a better techno

Tommy: He kicked me out

Tommy: So Rude

Dream: Hey Tommo did you know I went to that party last night? 

Dream: I think you might have seen Techno and me

Dream: <image sent>

Techno: LMAO

**Author's Note:**

> \- featuring my completely terrible nicknames. Terribly sorry that i called Dream "technocosplayer" for half the fic and "delta" for the other. shhh i know what im doing. "delta" came from dream's old ign, "deltaninja." It actually took me forever to find a nickname for Dream to introduce himself as, i was originally going to go for the next recommended name for "Clay" on a babynames website but that name was "Dave" and that would make things a little too awkward, i think. 
> 
> \- Anyways, finding a nickname for Techno was infinitely harder, i wanted to do some historical reference but it just didn't work. On a completely unrelated note, did you know that in ancient rome people used to light feral pigs on fire and attempt to sic them on the enemy army? It didn't go very well for either side. I went with "Neo" because it could be short for "napoleon", like the pig from animal farm and also the jump in minecraft. haha im funny.
> 
> \- I included the dancing scene because in my mind, i wanted it to be "the exact opposite of the duel." Teaching instead of training for the event, dancing instead of fighting, etc. 
> 
> \- Three guesses who ‘Tommo’ is, and the first two don’t count.
> 
> \- Spot the dramatic irony challenge!!


End file.
